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Based on the arcade game Donkey Kong, already very popular in the USA but not quite as well known here, Kong is a faithful reproduction of the original.

The idea of the game is to manoeuvre your little man through different situations to try and rescue a young lady held captive by the infamous King Kong at the top of the screen. The action takes place on four different screens, each one supposedly harder than the last.

There are five controls to move the man left and right, up and down and to jump over or on to obstacles. The movement can be controlled either by the keyboard, or with joysticks (if you happen to be rich enough to own a set), and is easy to master.

The first screen consists of a series of girders joined together by ladders which must be climbed. To hinder you, Kong throws barrels which roll down the girders and ladders. These must be jumped over or crushed, using a hammer which you must retrieve from a hook above one of the girders. But this hammer is unreliable and can disappear from your hand at any time; usually at just the wrong moment.

As soon as you reach the damsel in distress at the top of the screen the display immediately changes to the next setting: a series of conveyor belts carrying hot 'pies. You must travel along the belts, and jump off, without hitting a pie or ending up in the oven in the middle of the screen.

The next screen is probably the most difficult and consists of a lift system which is constantly moving and a series oflevels which must be jumped. The lift must be in exactly the right position before you can safely jump on to or off it, and it takes a while to fmd exactly the right point. After the lift, you must jump from level to level across open shafts while avoiding springs which Kong throws down them.

The next level is a mere formality. It consists of eight plugs which must be removed from the girders, causing them to collapse and so kill Kong, rescuing the young lady into the bargain.

The game then repeats, unfortunately with no apparent increase of difficulty.

Minimal instructions are provided, the author clearly assuming you know how to play already, but it is fun to experiment with the game and find out what you can and can't do. The program is entirely machine code, making for beautifully animated and smooth graphics plus good use of colour and sound.

An excellent game, making full use of the Genie's facilities and well worth buying.

I.O.